003 A Child's Cry

I paid the driver and stepped out, the cool night air brushing against my skin. The mansion stood large and intimidating, all glass and stone with perfectly manicured gardens. It felt like another world compared to my small apartment. My legs felt heavy as I walked up the wide steps. Before I could knock, the door opened. A middle-aged woman perhaps the nanny looked relieved to see me.

“Thank you for coming,” she said quickly. “Mia has been asking for you. She is having one of her episodes again.”

I followed her inside, my heels clicking on the marble floor. The house was beautiful but cold, filled with expensive art and furniture that probably cost more than everything I owned. We hurried up the grand staircase to the second floor.

Mia’s room was softly lit. The little girl sat up in her big bed, clutching her stuffed rabbit, her small chest rising and falling too quickly. Tears streaked her cheeks. When she saw me, her face lit up just a little.

“Lila,” she whispered, reaching out her arms.

I crossed the room without thinking and sat on the edge of her bed. “Hey, sweetheart. I am here.”

She crawled into my lap immediately, pressing her face into my chest. Her body trembled. I wrapped my arms around her, rocking her gently. “Breathe with me, okay? In… and out. Just like that.”

I started humming the silly lullaby Alex used to sing. Slowly, her breathing evened out. The nanny watched from the doorway with wide eyes.

“You are good with her,” she said quietly. “Better than the others.”

I kept holding Mia until her eyes grew heavy. She fell asleep with her little hand fisted in my shirt, just like she had the night after the funeral. For the first time in days, I felt something close to peace.

The door opened wider. Damian stood there, his tall frame filling the doorway. His suit jacket was gone, sleeves rolled up, and his expression was thunderous.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, voice low but sharp enough to cut.

I looked up at him, careful not to wake Mia. “Eleanor called me. Mia was having trouble breathing. The nanny could not calm her down.”

He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “I am warning you to stay away from my daughter. This is not your place.”

His words hurt, but I refused to shrink back. “She needed someone. And I was the one who came when you did not answer your phone.”

Damian’s jaw tightened. He stared at us for a long moment, at how peacefully Mia slept in my arms. Something flickered in his eyes, something like pain mixed with anger. But he quickly masked it.

“Get out,” he said coldly. “Now.”

I gently laid Mia back on her pillows and tucked the blanket around her. As I stood up, Damian’s gaze traveled over me, lingering for a second too long before he looked away with clear disgust.

“You think playing mother will make me accept you?” he muttered. “You are nothing but a reminder of what I lost. Do not fool yourself.”

I met his eyes directly. “I am not here for you, Damian. I am here for Mia and also Eleanor.”

He did not reply. He simply stepped aside so I could leave the room. As I walked down the hallway toward the exit, I felt his stare burning into my back.

The next morning, Eleanor called me again. Her voice was tired but determined. “Lila, I have to return to Libya tomorrow. But before I go, we need to settle this. Come to the house this afternoon. We will discuss the marriage properly. Damian has agreed to be there.”

My stomach twisted. I did not want to go back, but Eleanor’s plea was hard to refuse. She had done so much for me.

That afternoon I returned to the mansion. The meeting was short and tense. Eleanor explained the arrangement again. A quiet civil ceremony in a few days to make everything legal and keep me protected under the Voss name. Damian sat across from us, silent and brooding. He only spoke once.

“I am doing this for you, Mother. Not for her.”

Eleanor looked between us with sad eyes. “This is for the family, Damian. For Mia too.”

I sat there feeling like a pawn in a game I never wanted to play. When the meeting ended, Damian did not look at me as he left the room.

That night, back in my apartment, I could not sleep. The weight of Eleanor’s words and Damian’s coldness pressed on me. I touched the spot where Alex’s ring used to be and wondered how I was supposed to survive this.

But when my phone lit up with a message from the nanny asking if I could come again because Mia was calling my name, I knew I had no choice.

The mansion was waiting and so was Damian.